Falaise pocket

Just as there were three phases to the invasion (by air, sea and bombardments by sea and air), there were also three phases in the Battle of Normandy. The month of June was devoted to the taking of Cherbourg. In July Caen and Saint-Lo were liberated and troops advanced on Avranches. The month of August would see the end of the battle with the encircling of the 5th and 7th German armies in “Falaise pocket”.

“corridor of death”

When the Canadians took Falaise on August 17th they still needed to close the pocket with the help of the Poles from the 1st armoured division and the Americans to the east of Argentan. At Chambois there was a veritable “corridor of death”.

“It is one of the greatest killing fields in the war” Eisenhower would say of this battle

On August 21st the German defeat in Normandy was sealed. “It is one of the greatest killing fields in the war” Eisenhower would say about this pocket.

So it was that the Battle of Normandy ended, after very bloody battles on each side. Now Paris and the rest of Europe needed to be liberated…